SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS “PASTORALISM IN ETHIOPIA AND THE POLICY ENVIRONMENT: LINKING RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT ACTORS, AND DECISION-MAKERS” Meeting Held 15 August, 2003, at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa Edited by Getachew Gebru, Solomon Desta, and D. Layne Coppock GLOBAL LIVESTOCK COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH SUPPORT PROGRAM (GL-CRSP) This publication was made possible through support Provided In part by US Universities, host country institutions, and the Office of Agriculture and Food Security, Global Bureau, United States Agency for International Development, under Grant No. PCE-G-98-00036-00. The opinion expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development Correct Citation: Gebru, G., Desta, S., and D.L. Coppock (eds.) 2004. Pastoralism in Ethiopia and the Policy Environment: Linking Research, Development Actors, and Decision-Makers. Summary of Proceedings for a Meeting Held 15 August, 2003, at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Report produced by the Pastoral Risk Management (PARIMA) Project of the Global Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program (GL- CRSP). Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA. 30pp. Disclaimer: This written summary attempts, in a concise format, to capture the essence of oral presentations and extensive discussions undertaken at this meeting. In some cases paper presenters provided written text of their material, while in others talks were transcribed in an abbreviated fashion by a secretariat. The co-editors take full responsibility for the content of this report. We apologize in advance for any perceived misrepresentations, omissions, or errors that may have occurred in the transcription or condensation of presentations or plenary discussions. TABLE OF CONTENTS Background and Acknowledgements 2 Keynote Address by H.E.Ato Belay Ejigu, A/Minister, Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Agriculture 3 Overview of the PARIMA Project and Relevant Issues by Dr. Layne Coppock, Principal Investigator PARIMA, Utah State University 5 Invited Presentations Recent Crisis Management Experiences in Drought-Stricken Pastoral Areas of Ethiopia by Dr. Kassaye Hadego, FAO/Ethiopia Livestock Working Group 9 World Bank Pastoral Development Initiatives in Ethiopia by Dr. Mohammed Ahmed, National Coordinator, Pastoral Community Development Project, Ethiopian Ministry of Federal Affairs 10 Save the Children USA, Southern Tier Initiative-Livelihood Enhancement for Pastoralists and Agropastoralists, STI/LEAP By Mr. Mike Giles, Chief of Party STI/LEAP 12 Pastoral Development Strategy in the Oromia Region by Obbo Habtamu Teka, Commissioner, Oromia Pastoral Development Commission 13 Critical Policy Constraints for Improving Pastoral Welfare in Ethiopia by H.E. Abdulkarim A. Guleid, Member of Parliament and Chairman, Pastoralist Affairs Standing Committee of the Ethiopian Federal Parliament 14 The Role of the Pastoralist Affairs Standing Committee of the Ethiopian Parliament by H.E. Kibre Jemere, Member of Parliament and Vice Chairman, Pastoralist Affairs Standing Committee of the Ethiopian Federal Parliament 17 The Way Forward Plenary discussion session 19 ANNEXES Annex I Meeting Agenda 22 Annex II Proclamation No. 27/2002 No. 32 23 Annex III List of Participants 25 1 BACKGROUND The plight of pastoral and agropastoral people in Ethiopia has received increasing attention from development, research, and policy perspectives in recent years. This meeting was one response to the current situation. This meeting was organized to initiate stronger linkages and enhance communication among policy makers, researchers, development agents, and other interested parties concerned with pastoralists, agropastoralists, and the rangelands of Ethiopia. In attendance were national and regional (Oromia) level policy makers, pastoral elders, local administrators, researchers from regional, national, and international institutions, and representatives from bilateral missions, international donor organizations, and NGOs. Of particular note was the active participation by members of the Pastoralist Affairs Standing Committee (PASC) from the Ethiopian Parliament, and this underscored the emerging importance of pastoral development issues to the Ethiopian federal government. The meeting was organized around a series of oral presentations, followed by a plenary discussion. The keynote address was given by H.E. Ato Belay Ejigu, Acting Minister for the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Agriculture. This was followed by Dr. Layne Coppock, the lead Principal Investigator for the Pastoral Risk Management (PARIMA) project, who gave an overview of research and outreach experiences on the Borana Plateau going back nearly 20 years. The meeting then focused on a series of six invited presentations given by local experts representing governmental and non-governmental organizations. The meeting was attended by 44 people. The agenda and list of participants can be found in the Annexes of this report. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This meeting was sponsored by the PARIMA project, one of several activities undertaken worldwide by the Global Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program (GL-CRSP). The GL-CRSP operates under the auspices of the Office of Agriculture and Food Security, Global Bureau, of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the terms of Grant No. PCE-G-98-00036-00. We are thankful for this support. We express our gratitude to the meeting participants, and especially those who made the effort to prepare invited papers. We also thank the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) for making their conference facilities available to us. The PARIMA project has operated in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia since 1997. The lead institution for PARIMA is Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA. More information concerning PARIMA is on the internet http://www.cnr.usu.edu/research/crsp. More information on the GL-CRSP in general can be found at (http://glcrsp.ucdavis.edu). 2 KEYNOTE ADDRESS H.E. Ato Belay Ejigu, Acting Minister, Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Agriculture Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, I feel honored to say few words on this important and timely meeting that deals with "Pastoralism in Ethiopia and the Policy Environment: Linking Research, Development Actors and Decision Makers." Pastoralism can be defined as a land use system, an economic mode of production and way of life for many people who derive most of their income or sustenance from keeping domestic livestock reared in conditions where most of the feed is natural rather than cultivated. The arid and semi-arid areas of Ethiopia, which cover 61% of the land area of the country, are homes for millions of pastoralists of diverse ethnic groups. The three most important pastoral groups in Ethiopia in terms of human and livestock population and area occupied are the Afar in the northeast, the Somali in the east and southeast and the Borana in the south. Pastoralism makes a very significant contribution to the national economy, employment, agricultural production, and food demand of people in Ethiopia. It is estimated that the pastoral sector supports 40% of the cattle, 75% of the goats, 25% of the sheep, 20% of the equines, and 100% of the camel population in the country. The pastoral areas are the major source of supply, to the highlands of Ethiopia, of livestock for draught power, meat, and breeding animals to the highland population of Ethiopia. Pastoral livestock are also important as a source of revenue and export earnings to support the national economy. Extreme forms of poverty and food insecurity characterize the pastoral areas of Ethiopia. Highly pronounced environmental degradation caused by unwise utilization of the natural resource base, combined with recurrent drought, leads to ecological imbalances that often culminate in loss of huge livestock wealth and famine. Between 1980 and 2000 alone, three major droughts caused untold loss of livestock and human sufferings in pastoral areas. Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Despite the visible and significant role of pastoralism in the national and regional economy in Ethiopia, the sector was among the most marginalized, in terms of availability and access to public services, and development opportunities. Consequently, the sector received least attention in government development programs. In the past, few projects such as the Second Livestock Development Project, Third Livestock Development Project, and Southeast Rangelands Development Project, were implemented in the pastoral areas, with the aim at improving pastoral livelihoods. However, the past projects were often designed based on a western ranch model geared only to increase animal offtake 3 for commercial markets and to improve livestock productivity through controlled rotational grazing. However, these projects were devoid of a human dimension in addition to the fact that the objectives of those projects were incompatible with traditional African pastoralism. As a result, the contributions of the past development projects to alleviate poverty and food insecurity remained to be very minimal. In general, although improvements in delivery of veterinary services and provision of infrastructure were recorded, most projects did not meet their expectations due to the following factors: • Bias towards stimulating production at the expense of the socio-cultural systems. • Lack of knowledge on pastoral